Various kinds of global or local communications networks (the Internet, the World Wide Web, local area networks and the like) provide access to a vast quantity of information stored in geographically far flung locations. The available information includes a variety of content types, such as photos, video, audio and the like, and relates to a wide range of topics, such as but not limited to news, weather, traffic, entertainment, finance and the like. The information is also accessed using a wide range of electronic devices such as desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets and the like.
The speed at which this information can be accessed depends on factors such as, but not limited to, the amount of information being accessed, the format in which the information is being transmitted, the available bandwidth in the relevant communication network for transmission of information, the type of communication link being used to obtain the information, the number of users attempting to access the relevant information, and the like. For users of the electronic devices attempting to obtain information over the communication network, it can be frustrating to experience delays or time lags between requesting and receiving particular information.
It is generally known to switch electronic devices located on a slow connectivity network to a “turbo mode” of Internet operation for accessing information via the Internet. In a turbo mode of the Internet operation, resources are downloaded at a lower quality (for example, lower resolution images and the like) in order to reduce the amount of time needed for transmission and reception of the information. The turbo mode of operation therefore improves the speed of accessing information by sacrificing quality of the information accessed. In order to provide an improved web-browsing experience for a user, it is also known to monitor the user's network connection speed, and to switch that user's electronic device into the turbo Internet operation mode when the connection speed decreases. However, determining a decrease in the connection speed cannot be done instantaneously. Thus, even when this method of monitoring the connection speed and accordingly switching to a turbo mode of operation is employed, the amount of time taken to switch to turbo mode of operation is often long enough to be frustrating to the user.